The traveler believes he was discriminated against when the crew of an Oslo-Paris flight in 2022 asked him, before takeoff, to exchange seats with a passenger on the grounds that he could not be seated next to two children traveling alone.
The airline Air France was found guilty of sex discrimination in Norway after asking a passenger to change seats so as not to be seated next to unaccompanied minors to avoid the supposed risk of assault. Dominique Sellier contacted the Diskimineringsnemnda, the Norwegian Anti-Discrimination Commission, believing that he had been discriminated against when the crew of an Oslo-Paris flight on October 27, 2022 asked him, before takeoff, to exchange his seat with a passenger on the grounds that he could not be seated next to two children traveling alone.
During the examination of the case, the French company's lawyer justified this change of seats by the carrier's internal regulations and argued that men represented 97.93% of the perpetrators of suspected sexual crimes and offenses. “It was not a very pleasant situation”Dominique Sellier testified Tuesday to AFP. “The passengers around were looking at me because they were waiting for the seat change to be made so that we could take off”. “There may be an element of projection but I interpreted certain looks as saying 'this guy is not in focus'”he explained.
“An essentialization of men”
According to the decision of the Anti-Discrimination Commission, of which AFP obtained a copy, Air France's internal regulations stipulate that in the event of a complete flight, it is “preferably” a woman who sits alongside unaccompanied minors. Asked by AFP, Air France, through its lawyer, did not wish to comment at this stage. According to the hearing report, the company attempted to question the jurisdiction of the Norwegian body in this case, arguing that the episode had occurred on board a plane which was not registered in Norway.
In the alternative, she also asserted that this was a difference in legal treatment, justified by the need to ensure the security of unaccompanied minors against the risk of “trafficking and other forms of violence and aggression”. “How can we accept this type of suspicion because we belong to the masculine gender? It’s an essentialization of men that seems to me to go a little too far”reacts Dominique Sellier.
Although he won his case before the Diskrimineringsnemnda made up of three lawyers, the complainant says he received neither compensation nor an apology. During the flight, “I just had a glass of champagne in a paper cup”he confided.
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